Hubs, Rebels get shot down in Shootout finale

December 29, 2011|By WILL ROBINSON | Staff Correspondent

By Joe Crocetta/Staff Photographer

HAGERSTOWN — Both North and South Hagerstown came up short on Thursday in the second day of the South High Holiday Shootout as the Hubs fell 57-35 to St. Vincent Pallotti and the Rebels dropped a 66-59 decision to Martinsburg.

North and Pallotti had all the beauty of a 5-o’clock shadow as the two teams combined for 12 turnovers in the first quarter. Still, Pallotti used a 7-2 run to establish a 14-7 lead by the end of the period.

The second quarter was a battle of Pallotti’s poor shooting percentage (4-for-20) against North’s poor ball handling (eight turnovers), but the Panthers still outscored North (3-4) 13-10 for a 27-17 halftime lead.

Iman Scott scored seven of her team-leading 11 points in the first half.

“We just made a lot of mental mistakes,” said North coach Cyndi Benjamin. “(Pallotti) was the first team that really pressured us. We need to work on our confidence against pressure.”

North didn’t find it any easier to release Pallotti’s pressure in the second half. The Panthers outscored the Hubs 30-18 in the second half to salt the game away.

“It was a lot of little things that we need to work on to beat a team like Pallotti,” Benjamin said.

The nightcap was a track meet as South Hagerstown led 23-21 after the first quarter. Katrice Dickson scored 15 of her game-high 26 points in the period.“I said we’ve got to let Katrice go and start scoring baskets,” said South coach Nate Naylor. “When Katrice is on, she opens the floor up for everybody else.”

Unfortunately, Dickson and the rest of the Rebels (5-4) went cold as South shot 2-for-13 in the period. Martinsburg didn’t fare much better — shooting 3-for-14 — but the Bulldogs (3-4) owned a 28-27 halftime lead.

The Bulldogs found their stroke in the third quarter as Jasmyn Hosby scored seven of her 14 points in the quarter. Kiana Bullett added six of her team-leading 17 points to help put Martinsburg up 49-40.

South outscored Pallotti 19-17 in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late.

“This was a playoff-type game and we have to take the positives with the negatives,” said Naylor. “Yes, free throws make a difference (South shot 10-for-26 from the line) but we proved that we can hang with a good team like Martinsburg.”

St. Paul’s School for Girls defeated Northern Garrett 39-29 in Thursday’s first game.